FAMILY EXPERIENCE AND THE CHILDS DEVELOPMENT

Discusses the evidence for 3 premises implicit in theories of human development: (a) the assumption that a particular set of conditions is inevitably associated with a fixed set of consequences for all children, (b) the continuation of psychological structures established early in life, and (c) the importance of the mother-infant bond. Data are presented that question the validity of these presuppositions. It is suggested that the form of early care that is best for the child-in the adaptive sense-is the one that leads to, or is productive of, the culture's favored qualities, and therefore, no regimen of early care is best for all psychological qualities. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1979 American Psychological Association.